Lala Salama decaf, Rwanda

Description

Lala Salama means ‘Sleep Well’ in Swahili, there couldn’t be a more fitting name to bestow upon this Sparkling Water Decaffeinated coffee.

This decaf is comprised of coffees from three washing stations. Mutovu river comes from the Karambi Mountain station and is named after the river that flows at the foot of the site and provides the washing station with its water. Like many of the washing stations, rainwater is stored in tanks and channelled throughout the site.

Mwasa coffee washing station is located in the Macuba sector, Nyamasheke district in Rwanda’s Western Province, near to the small town of Gatare.

Located just over 1600 metres above sea level, the washing station cover an area of just 1 hectare and was established in 2006. Mwasa is the name of the village in which the washing station operates. Just 300 farmers contribute cherry to Mwasa, delivering their crop to 5 collection points in the area. They use only organic fertiliser which usually consists of discarded cherry pulp and manure which they place at the base of their coffee trees.

Mwasa is among the few coffee cooperatives that have continued to operate profitably and retained the ownership of their washing stations.

Gitega Hills is located 12km from neighbouring Bwenda in the Cyanika sector and slightly higher up, adjacent to a disused quartz quarry. On average the contributing farms grow just 400 trees (1 hectare). The station provides farmers with organic compost which consists of recycled cherry pulp from the station with some animal manure.